Automatic marker buoy for lost objects



Oct. 23, 1951 v c, c, SWYERS 2,572,676

AUTOMATIC MARKER BUOY FOR LOST OBJECTS Filed April 4, 1950 Bmaentor 20 Z; 0/4015 a sm ms v Jig m Mww Wm. ttornegs I Patented Oct. 23, 1951 OFFICE AUTOMATIC MAR-KER BUOY FOR LOST OBJECTS Charles C. Swyers,v Toledo, Ohio Application April 4, 1950, Serial No. 153,807

This invention relates to improvements in automatic marker buoys for indicating the position of objects which may fall overboard from boats or small craft during their operation. For example, it is common knowledge that outboard motors which are used with many small boats are often lost overboard by reason of their mounting clamps becoming loose by vibration, by striking foreign objects in the water or by being dropped when being transferred from one position to another. Similarly, anchors are often lost due to carelessness in handling or inadvertence of one kind or another. Various types of marker buoys have been proposed for indicating the position of these lost objects to facilitate retrieving them. Some of these marker buoys are mounted upon the objects themselves and are intended to be released from the objects when they fall overboard. Many times, hoyever, such release mechanisms as maybe employed fail to function because of entanglement with the objects themselves. It has also been proposed to provide marker buoys mounted in chambers supported on the boats themselves and withdrawn from'the chambers by the action of gravity when the objects fall overboard.

An example of a marker buoy designed in'this latter style is that disclosed in Patent 2,243.551 to L. A. Daly, in which there is provided a canister containing a coil of line and a float and having a cover which is linked to an outboard mo tor. This attachment is intended to operate when the motor falls overboard and pulls the cover off the canister allowing the coil of line and the float to drop from the canister by force of gravity; The principal difficulty encountered in a marker buoy of this type is the fact that the canister remains attached to the vessel and very frequently the coil of line or the float, or both, become entangled in the vessel (particularly, when the vessel is not moving forward in the water) or, they may fail to clear the canister in which they are contained or, because the coil falls free in its entirety, the .line may snarl rather-than unwinding evenly.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide an automatic marker buoy for indicating the position-of an object lost overboard and which is provided with automatic means for projecting the marker buoy and its coil of line away from the side of the vessel so as to eliminate any possibility of entanglement with the vessel or with other objects which may be located nearby.

It is another objectof this invention to pro-- vide a marker buoy in which the. line is stated 5 Claims. (Cl. -9-9) within the marker buoy body so that it will be payed out without snarling.

The mode of achievement of these objects and the advantages accruing from a, design embodying my invention will be better understood from reference to the drawings in which:

Figure I is an isometric view, partly in section, of an automatic marker buoy embodying the invention. I

Figure II is a view in elevation of the mechanism shown in' Figure I, on a smaller scale and illustrating its mounting'and operation, a frag mentary sectional view of a small boat being shown in the drawing.

Figure III is a fragmentary vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale of an automatic election mechanism designed to throw the marker buoy away from a boat when the object to which it is attached falls overboard. v

' An automatic marker buoy embodying the invention may consist of a generally cylindrical float body I which is divided by a watertight partition 2 into an upper flotation chamber 3 and a lower line storage chamber 4. A 0011 of line 5 is appropriately coiled in the chamber or compartment 4 to permit it to be payed out through'a bottom opening 6 of the chamber 4. One end of the line 5 is secured to an eye I which, in the embodiment shown, is fixed to the partition 2. The other end of the line '5 is secured to an eyev 8 which is mounted in a closure 9 for the opening 6. The closure 9 fits snugly within the opening 6 but is held therein merely by friction and thus can be removed by a sharp pull (being less in force than that exerted by a motor sinking in the water) on a chain III which i linked to a portion of the eye 8 projecting through the closure 9. The chain in terminates in a snap fastener H which (see Figure II) can be attached to a link l2 mounted on a conventional outboard motor, for example, generally indicated by the reference character [3. I I

A horizontally projecting sleeve H (see also Figure III) is welded or otherwise permanently and rigidly secured to the exterior of the body I. The sleeve l4 engages in telescoping relationship with a pin or stud l5 which is welded or simia sleeve 14. The spring 19 is held in compressionby the pin 15 when the two are in the normal position illustrated in Figure III of the drawings. A second chain 2| also is linked to the eye 8, its other end being engaged in an eye 22 on the lower end of the cotter I 8. The use of a cotter I8 is advantageous in that its arms can be slightly spread, as shown, in order to gauge the force necessary for its withdrawal so that inadvertent entangling of the chain 2I will not withdraw the cotter I 8, but the weight of the motor (usually over 50 lbs.) will do so.

The bracket I6 has, as an integral part, a U- shaped clamping portion 23 in one arm of which there is threaded a wing bolt 24 and by means of which the bracket I6 is mounted at the top of the transom 25 of a small boat 26 with which the marker buoy is to be used.

In Figure II it is shown how the outboard motor I3 is mounted on the transom 25 of the small boat 26 and how, by means of the wing bolt 24 the clamp 23 also is mounted on the transom adjacent the position of the outboard motor. The bracket It supports the marker buoy in vertical position with the closure 9 at the bottom of the body I and with the chains Ill and 2| hanging free.

When, for some reason such as the striking of an obstruction, the working loose of its mounting means or inadvertence in handling, the outboard motor I3 is lost overboard, it falls downwardly tightening the chain I and snapping the closure 9 out of engagement with the edges'of the opening 6 in the body I. Continued falling of the motor I3 starts to uncoil the line from within the chamber 4 and also tightens the chain 2|. This jerks the cotter l8 out of its normal position shown in the drawings, releasing the spring I9'which then expands and propels the body I away from the boat as is shown in the broken line section of Figure II. Because the buoyancy chamber 3 isat the upper end of the body I and because of' the provision of an annular weight 25 at:the bottom of the line chamber 4, the body I always remains upright in the water, floatingon the surface with the line chamber extending downwardly, thus permitting the line 5 to be payed out without any possibility of fouling. The length ofthe line 4 is selected with respect to the depth of the body of water on which the boat is to be used, but in general it may be in the neighborhood of fifty feet in length which usually is sufflcient to lead from the surface to the bottom of smallbodies of water in which small boats are used.,When the object to which the chain is attached reaches the bottom of the body of water the line 5 no longer pays out except as might occur due to drift of the body I by action of current waves or wind. If the owner immediately starts attempting to retrieve the object, the marker buoy will, in all probability, be floating almost directly above the object unless there is a substantial current. In any event, however, by virtue of the marker buoy the precise location of the object can be determined and its recovery expedited. In fact, if a high quality line, for example marlin, is employed, the motor or other object may be lifted by the float line 5 itself, eliminating the necessity for grappling or otherwise catching hold of the object as it lies on the bottom.

After the object has been retrieved the coil of rope 5 may be recoiled in the chamber 4 or it may be replaced by a fresh coil of rope if desired. After the coil of rope 5 has been inserted in the chamber 4, the closure 9 is again pressed in place in the opening 6 to close the coil chamber 4 and the marker buoy remounted on its bracket by telescoping the sleeve I4 and pin I5 upon each other and upwardly reinserting the cotter l8. The chain I0 is then reattached to the object, for example, the outboard motor l3, and the device is again in readiness for use. 7

Because the entire float is ejected away from the boat before the line paysv out more than a few inches, the possibility of entanglement of the line with any portion of the boat or of snarling as might occur if the line were released in a coiled condition, is obviated.

A further advantage accrues from the fact that two releases must be actuated before the float itself is released in that if the closure is inadvertently opened, or b one of the chains becoming entangled, the float does not fall into the water, where it may become entangledor damaged.

Although the automatic marker buoy embodying theinvention is shown in the drawings as being employed with an outboard motor and as being mounted on the transom of a boat, it will be appreciated that it could be equally well used with any other object which might fall overboard and can equally well be mounted on any portion of the boat. For example, if the portion of the boat indicated by the reference character 25 were, instead of the transom, one of the gunwales, the marker buoy bracket could be mounted adjacent the normal position of the anchor and the snap fastener II could be used to attach the chain ID to an eye formed on the anchor. The freedom of positioning of the marker buoy embodying the invention accrues not onl from its compactness but also from the provision for automatic propelling of the body I (consisting in both the float chamber and line chamber) horizontally away from that portion of the boat on which it normally is mounted by its mounting bracket I6. The automatic propulsion of the marker buoy provides for elimination of any possibility of snarling or entanglement such as has existed in many marker buoys of the prior art.

Having described my invention and the advantages accruing from the provision for automatic propulsion of the entire structure away from the boat on which it is mounted, I claim:

1. An automatic marker buoy for indicating the location of an object which has fallen overboard from a boat comprising, in combination, a float having two sections, the first section being buoyant and the second section having facilities for storing a coil of line, a coil of line stored in said second section with one end secured to said float, a friction-held line retainer for retainin said coil of line in said facilities, the other end of said coil of line being secured to said retainer, a flexible connector between said retainer and the object whose position is to be indicated, a pair of disengageable members one secured to said float and the other adapted to be secured to the boat, resilient means urging said members apart, a removable element holding said members .together and a short flexible connector between said line retainer and said removable element.

2. Anautomatic marker buoy for indicating the location of an object which has fallen overboard from a boat comprising, in combination, a float having two sections, the flrstsection being buoyant and the second section having facilitiesfor storing a coil of line, a coil of line stored in said second section with one end secured to said float,

a friction-held line retainer for retaining said coil of line in said facilities, the other end of said 0011' of line being secured to said retainer, a flexible connector between said retainer and the object whose position is to be indicated, a pair of separable telescoping members one secured to said float and the other adapted to be secured to the boat, a spring biased to separate said telescoping members, a removable element for normall holding said telescoping members together and a short flexible connector between said line retainer and said removable element.

3. An automatic marker buoy for indicating the location of an object which has fallen overboard from a boat comprising, in combination, a float having a two compartment body, one compartment positioned above the other, the upper one of said compartments being water tight for buoyancy and the lower one of said compartments providing for line storage, a coil of line in the second compartment one end thereof being secured to said float, the second compartment having a bottom opening through which said line may be payed out, a friction retained closure for such opening, the other end of said line being secured to the inner side of said closure, a flexible connector between the outer side of said closure and the object whose position it is desired to mark, a pair of disengageable members one secured to said float and the other adapted to be secured to the boat, resilient means urging said members apart, a removable element holding said members together and a short flexible connector between the outer side of said closure and said removable element.

4. An automatic marker buoy for indicating the location of an object which has fallen overboard from a boat comprising, in combination, a float having a two compartment body, one compartment positioned above the other, the upper one of said compartments being water tight for buoyancy and the lower one of said compartments providing for line storage, a coil of line in the second compartment one end thereof being secured to said float, the second compartment having a bottom opening through which said line may be payed out, a friction retained closure for such opening, the other end of said line being secured to the inner side of said closure, a flexible connector between the outer side of said closure and the object whose position it is desired to mark, a pair of separable telescoping members one secured to said float and the other adapted to be secured to the boat, a spring biased to separate said telescoping members, a removable element for normally holding said telescoping members together and a short flexible connector between said closure and said removable element.

5. An automatic marker buoy for indicating the location of an object which has fallen overboard from a boat comprising, in combination, a float having a two compartment body, one compartment positioned above the other, the upper one of said compartments being water tight for buoyancy and the lower one of said compartments providing for line storage, a coil of line in the second compartment one end thereof being secured to said float, the second compartment having a bottom opening through which said line may be payed out, a friction retained closure for such opening, the other end of said line being secured to the inner side of said closure, a flexible connector between the outer side of said closure and the object whose position it is desired to mark, a pair of separable telescoping members one secured to said float and the other adapted to be secured to the boat, resilient means urging said members apart, a downwardly removable pin normally inserted through holes in the overlapping portions of said telescoping members and a short connector between said closure and said pin.

CHARLES C. SWYERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: c:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,190,531 Kaboskey et a1 Feb. 13, 1940 2,243,551 Daly May 27, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 81,829 Germany ,V V,, V Sept. 25, 1894 

